Thank you for your continued love and support to our entire family. We are reading all of your messages even if we are not emotionally able to respond to them personally.

I have asked two very special friends that I met on Catster to help Milo get his wings, so today I need to spend some time selecting some photos for them. They were specifically asked not only for their talents but they, along with many others, loved Milo for the kitty he was, and so his photos will be made with much love behind them.

As I type this, little Sofie is in our bedroom sleeping alone in the bed that Milo slept in most of the time. My husband said, and I agree, that of all the kitties, she will probably miss Milo the most.

Yesterday was a long day but I was glad and sad to have that time to go through the countless number of photos I have of the kids and put a picture up of them with Milo on each of their pages.

We have been reading all the messages left for Milo and the family in the Stars and Rosettes, pawmails, main forum, groups, and picture stroll. Thank you Rocky Ann, for starting the memorial forum for Milo, Gimme for the candle lighting site, and Maggie Moo for the picture stroll. We also discovered via "updates" that a number of his friends have put his picture on their page as their main photo created by Buddie and also wrote diary entries about him. I'm sorry if I'm unable to list all of those I ran across, but do know that my husband and I have seen most of them.

Milo's dear pal Grover also sponsored a kitty in his name through Best Friends Animal Society. I will send more details on that later and post a picture of the kitty he sponsored. Thanks, Grover! Both of Milo's Best East Coast Pals, Grover and Ripley, put up new pictures for him.

I do need to go to work today for awhile but will try to come home early. My husband is off again today and will keep an eye out of the rest of the kids, but so far they seem to be fine. Mercy was more talkative yesterday (seriously) and this morning I found Sofie curled up in the fleece lined cuddle bed in our bedroom that Milo liked to sleep in at night.

We are heartbroken but will get through this. Thank you all for being so loving to Milo and our family.

It is with great sadness to write that we lost Milo this morning at approximately 7:45am Pacific Time. This past year, he was struggling with immune-mediated polyarthritis but always ate well. This is a disease that can be controlled but not reversed.

This morning, I watched Milo scratch the scratching post and then he walked over to eat. Then he went into the litter box. When I'm home, I always supervise his eating and litter box habits and saw nothing unusual. Everything looked normal. He went to sit on the stairs and I always get excited when I see him sitting up these days and even told my husband, who had a scheduled day-off today, so my husband cheered him on.

Milo went back to eat some more and I walked right pass him to empty out the litter boxes nearby and shortly after heard moaning. I turned around to see him on his side struggling to breathe while a few of the others were gathered around him wondering what was wrong. It appeared he was going into cardiac arrest. I yelled for my husband but within moments after he made it to the room, Milo took his final breath and was gone. He looked so peaceful. He was only 4 years old.

We spent some time with Milo wrapped in a favorite blanket and let everyone say their goodbyes, including the dogs. Riley licked his ears. My husband took Milo to be cremated and I called work to tell them I would not be in today. The vet cut some of Milo's fur for us and tied it with a sweet little blue bow.

Milo was always special and loving to all. He was always the first to meet newcomers to our family because of his nurturing nature. He would have been the same to any of your kitties upon meeting them the first time.

I can't believe I am making a memorial page for him and as you can imagine, had to pull myself together to even start it, as difficult as it is. Please understand if you do not hear from us right away while we go through this but know that we appreciate all of your support during this difficult time.

We got a surprise yesterday, and it was a package from RIPLEY & GANG! Inside was a cute Halloween card, green sparkly ball, red furry ball, YEOWW! catnip, glow-in-the-dark balls, and my favorite, a purple mouse. Because of my polyarthritis, I don't play that much anymore, so Mom was happy to see me playing with the purple mouse and chewing it's tail. Of course I was happy, because I knew these toys came from my Best East Coast Pal!

I'm the calmest kitty in the house, so any costume would have been fine for me. Mom thought I'd do a good job looking "royal". The truth is, as you can see in a couple of my photos, I typically try to nap during photo sessions but Mom managed to perk me up for awhile before I went back to sleep!

This King is going to try a new food (along with my brothers and sisters) so I'll keep you posted on that one.

I'm supporting my Best East Coast Pal RIPLEY, like a Best West Coal Pal should. My sister Mercy is supporting ROCKY ANN but she couldn't find anything in her closet to wear in the team colors. *rolls eyes*

It's not about who wins, but how they play the game! *yeah, right*

Mom and Dad will be at a bowling alley during the game attending a family kid party, but they'll find a TV somewhere.

I've been asked by several of my friends to please leave a health update in my diary once in awhile, so here it is. This is about my condition called Immune-mediated Polyarthritis, which is a joint disease. I am taking meds and the inflammation is now gone. Yay! But, it's a condition that unfortunately cannot be reversed, so I will need to take some form of medication for the rest of my life. I am really good about taking meds and don't fight.

Dr. Wong, my regular vet, and Dr. Strubel, my vet specialist, spoke with each other this week about me. Together they determined that there is no longer an immediate concern about my calcium level since I had a bladder stone removed last year. My vital signs are good other than the Polyarthritis. Because of this, we get to try a new food with antioxidants, so Mom bought a bag today to see how we all like it. No brand name will be mentioned in my diary as brand names seem to cause so much controversy these days.

Having this condition is a bummer, especially at my young age, but Mom and Dad are strong for me. I purr, purr, purr, purr, give kisses, and my brothers and sisters take turns snuggling with me. Sometimes when I lay down for too long, Mom gently makes me stand up for exercise and scoots me over to the food bowl. I have no problems using the litter box or jumping up on the couch or cat tree; I just do it slower than the rest of the kitties here. I also don't have a problem eating and I even complain when I'm hungry!

Oh, when Mom spoke with Dr. Strubel this week about other ways to make me more comfortable, one of the things they discussed was acupuncture, but I'm not sure I want to look like a porcupine! I think I'd rather look like a Cowboy for now.

Love,
Milo

P.S. How could I forget to mention this. The blanket behind my Cowboy photos was crocheted by Auntie Sue, one of my Mom's sisters. Auntie Sue is recovering from major surgery and as soon as she gets home I'm going to have to show her my pictures.

I decided to put on my cowboy hat yesterday and look for GROVER. His Mom was out of town and was shocked to come home and find that he was "Wanted". Then suddenly I received the following letter from him:

Hey Cow Poke,

You mean I am only worth $2500 reward????
Mom says more like $25 trillion!!!

Maybe I am just worth more to her, you think?

Well, you will have to try to catch me if you can. All you will see of me is my Fluffy tail making a getaway!!

Well, I am off to the saloon to get me a sarsaparilla.

Thanks for honoring me on your page, pardner!!

Your pal,
Grover

Spoken like a true country boy from Tennessee! What's a sarsaparilla? And where's my horse? I think he's been running around my page somewhere................